Removable Cup Rim Protector

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a Removable Cup Rim Protector for plastic (celluloid) paper (cellulose), Styrofoam or plastic cups with a protective, removable film around the drinking rim and portions of the cup. This film may be included in the manufacturing process or added later and is easily removable by peeling away the perforated section of the rim protector. Benefits include protecting the users hands and mouth from transferable dirt, bacteria and other cross contamination from servers and third party&#39;s handling or otherwise transferring the cups. The film may be extended to include part or all of the side of the cup.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to accessories for food and beverage containers.

2. Description of the Related Art

Plastic Styrofoam or paper cups are frequently used by consumers and typically come in some sort of packaging which holds a number of them. Once the package is opened they're exposed to environmental or human contamination from handling or otherwise transferring the cups. Further individual cups are handled by people during the manufacturing process in order to assemble them inside of such a package. In various retail, food or beverage preparation settings such as Styrofoam or paper cups available at, for example, a coffee shop or gas station or the like, individual cups are exposed to the environment and potentially handled by other people with unclean hands. The current invention provides for a cover for the area of the cup that comes into contact with the consumer's mouth and keeps it clean and or sterile regardless of the handling of the cup during the manufacturing process, shipping, or their arrangement in the consumers setting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The various embodiments comprise a removable sterilizing cover for a plastic, Styrofoam, paper, or other type of cup. The cover covers the upper rim portion of the cup and the inner and outer top area. The cover is designed to be placed onto the cup during or just after the manufacturing process and to be removed just prior to use of the cup. The purpose of the cover is to protect the upper rim area of the cup from contamination and other issues that can occur during handling of the cup. These issues may occur as it is moved from a manufacturing facility to the point of purchase in a retail, hospitals, schools or other clinical, public or private setting, and all points of transportation until an individual consumer is ready to use the cup. The cover essentially covers the upper inner and outer areas of the cup and along the top of the cup's rim. The cover extends over the top of the rim and downward along the inner and outer sides. The cover or film may be included in the manufacturing process and is easily removable by peeling away the perforated section of the rim. Benefits include protecting the hands and mouth from dirt, bacteria and other cross contamination from servers and third party's handling or transferring the cups. The film may be extended to include part or all of the side of the cup. A means of removal is included in the design, such as a perforation or its equivalent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the current invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 shows the basic design elements of various exemplary embodiments of the current invention.

FIG. 3 shows a perforation that has been formed along the side of the sterile covering let me easily be broken in order to remove it from the rim of the cup.

FIG. 4 shows a transectional view of a cup with an exemplary covering consistent with many of the embodiments of the invention herein.

FIG. 5 shows a breakdown of the various elements of the invention herein for one particular embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Disclosed herein is a removable sterilizing cover for a plastic, Styrofoam, paper, or other type of cup. The cover covers the upper rim portion of the cup and part or all of the inner and outer top area. The cover is designed to be placed onto the cup during or just after the manufacturing process and to be removed just prior to use of the cup. The purpose of the cover is to protect the upper rim area of the cup from contamination and other issues that can occur during handling of the cup. These issues may occur as it is moved from a manufacturing facility to the point of purchase in a retail hospitals, schools or other clinical, public or private setting, and all points of transportation until an individual is ready to use the cup.

The cover essentially covers the upper inner and outer areas of the cup and along the top of the cup's rim. The cover extends over the top of the rim and downward along the inner and outer sides. A means of removal is included in the design, such as a perforation or its equivalent.

The cover may be made by any number of materials as will be recognized by those skilled in the art. Key elements of the covers design and application include but are not limited to essentially sealing the upper rim portion of the cup (so as to protect it from dirt germs and other elements of contamination that may be transferred to the surface of the cup during the manufacturing and shipping or delivery process). In one embodiment the cover is made from a plastic type material that is fitted to the rim of the cup during the manufacturing process or early in the production and shipping phases. Plastic maybe heat shrinkable or consist of other similar technologies and designs so as to allow for a snug fit to maintain sterility. Other materials and designs will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and are part of the disclosure herein.

A non-exhaustive list of material that may be used across the various embodiments include but are not limited to plastic materials, rubber and other polymers, papers and hybrids of any number of these materials or others that will be recognized by those skilled in the art.

The dimensions of the cover may vary across the different environments. In addition to the various types of materials that may be used, the dimensions may vary such as the distance in which the cover extends downward along the inner and outer sides of the cup. In some embodiments the cover extends almost all the way to the bottom of the cup or potentially extending all the way underneath and wrapping around the underside of the cup. The cover may extend along the inside of the cup in a similar fashion.

However a key element of the invention herein is that the covering of the rim of a cup is essentially fit to the form of the cup and does not extend across the top opening of the cup as a lid would. One advantage of this design is that multiple cups may be stacked on top and within each other as is common in packing a group of cups. A lid or covering across the top opening would prevent such stacking and space saving efficiency.

The cup cover as described herein may have some type of feature designed to aid in the removal of the cover before use. In one embodiment this is in the form of a perforated area or line where the cover may be tom and easily removed. However other embodiments may be comprised of alternative versions and means in order to aid the removal. Certain features that may aid the removal such as perforations, strings, tabs, or other separation and fastening means all form part of the invention herein across its various embodiments.

The numerous potential processes for applying the cover to the cup during or just after the manufacturing process will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Various techniques such as heat shrinking or using automated machinery to place a preformed piece, such as a cut out pattern, of material onto a cup may be utilized.

A key feature of the invention herein is that is not used to seal a lid or cap like cover over the opening of the top of the cup, as many retail beverage bottles are sealed. The film herein is used to cover the upper rim portion of disposable cups and the like, and well as a portion or all of the inner and outer surfaces of the cup. This is a key distinction of the invention from the prior art.

Now turning to the figures and drawings, FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the current invention disclosed herein. The cup rim protector may vary in its designs and dimensions. One embodiment is shown in this figure.

FIG. 2 shows the basic design elements of various exemplary embodiments of the current invention. The shaded upper area depicts the cup rim protector which is shown as it extends down both the inner and outer sides of the cup. The dotted line indicates where a perforation or other means for easily removing the protective film may be located. Noted in this 15 figure is the vertical level at which A and B are located, demonstrating for this embodiment the protective film extends downward in equal distances on both the inner and outer surfaces areas of the cup, while extending over the top of the cups rim.

FIG. 3, left, shows a perforation that has been formed along the side of the sterile covering let me easily be broken in order to remove it from the rim of the cup. The particular embodiment shown has a single perforation extending downward, however other embodiments may have two perforation lines in any location around the surface of the film. Certain embodiments such as that shown on the right of the figure, include a double perforation, with two perforation lines relatively close to one another and with a small pull tab to allow for easy tearing of the perforations and removal of the film.

FIG. 4 shows a transectional view of a cup with an exemplary covering consistent with many of the embodiments of the invention herein. The figure is meant to display the manner in which the invention herein covers the inner and outer portions of a cup as well as the top rim portion. The invention is not limited to the particular dimensions or thickness of the figure. In the figure A points the cup, in a dissected view to show both the inner and outer surfaces of the cup as they relate to protective film or cover. B points to the outer area of the protective film. C points to the inner area of the protective film. Elements D refers to the area of the protective film which extends over the top area of the cup rim, a key element across all embodiments of the invention herein. In this figure the protective film extends down from the cup's rim in equal distances for both the inner and outer surfaces of the cup. However in other embodiments the inner and outer areas of the cover may vary in how far they extend towards the bottom of the cup. For example FIG. 5 shows one embodiment whereby the outer portion of the film extends nearly to the bottom of the cup.

FIG. 5 shows a breakdown of the various elements of the invention herein for one particular embodiment. Element A points to the cup. B points to the protective cover or film. In this embodiment the film extends down towards the bottom of the cup. In other embodiments the film may not extend towards the bottom but only cover a portion near the top of the cup. In still other embodiments the film may extend all the way to the bottom of the cup and wrap underneath. The inner portion of the protective film may vary similarly across the different embodiments. The inner portion of the film is shown by element C. D points to the inner, uncovered, area of the cup. E points a perforation that may be used to remove the covering before use.

For the purposes of describing and defining the present invention it is noted that the use of relative terms such as “substantially”, ‘generally”, “approximately” and the like, are utilized herein to represent an inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation. These terms are also utilized herein to represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject matter at issue.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described above. No element, act or instruction used in this description should be construed as important, necessary, critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such. Although only a few of the exemplary embodiments have been described in detail herein and those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in these exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention.

The phrase “in one embodiment” is used repeatedly. The phrase generally does not refer to the same embodiment; however, it may. The terms “comprising,” “having” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise. The following illustrations of various embodiments use particular terms by way of example to describe the various embodiments, but this should be construed to encompass and provide for terms such as “method” and “routine” and the like.

Various aspects of the illustrative embodiments will be described using terms commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be practiced with only some of the described aspects. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the illustrative embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the illustrative embodiments.

The characteristics and utilities of the present invention described in this summary and the detailed description below are not all inclusive. Many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art given the following description. There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.

In this respect, by explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the description. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the description be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. The characteristics and utilities of the present invention described in this summary and the detailed description below are not all inclusive. Many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art given the detailed description. 

I claim:
 1. A protective cover for a cup, comprising a piece of material fitting around at least the top portion of a cup, not extending across the cups upper opening, and extending downward along the inner and outer sides of the cup, and draping over the entirety of the rim of the cup.
 2. The protective cover of claim 1, wherein the cover is made of plastic, paper, polymers, rubber, foil, or a combination thereof.
 3. The protective cover of claim 2, wherein the cover includes at least one perforated area to enable removal of the cover.
 4. The protective cover of claim 3, wherein the cover is secured to the cup during the manufacturing of said cup.
 5. A sanitary system for a disposable cup, said system comprising a cup and a protective cover for a cup, comprising a piece of material fitting around at least the top portion of a cup, not extending across the cups upper opening, and extending downward along the inner and outer sides of the cup, and draping over the entirety of the rim of the cup.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the protective cover is made of plastic, paper, polymers, rubber, foil, or a combination thereof.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the cover includes at least one perforated area to enable removal of the cover.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the cover is secured to the cup during the manufacturing of said cup.
 9. The protective cover of claim 4, wherein the cover does not overlay or contact a lid, cap, or other means of closing the top opening of said cup.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the cover does not overlay or contact a lid, cap, or other means of closing the top opening of said cup.
 11. The protective cover of claim 9, further comprising two perforated lines and a pull tab for removal of the film. 